Three area teams reach podium at state

iThe Boerne Champion girls team: Kate Williams (from left), Katie Houck, Anastacia Gonzales, Savana Alt, Erin Briley, Elle Shrader and Kelsie Vicknair runs out during introductions prior to the start of the 5A Girls 5K during the UIL state cross country championships at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018. The Chargers finished second at the meet. less

iThe Boerne Champion girls team: Kate Williams (from left), Katie Houck, Anastacia Gonzales, Savana Alt, Erin Briley, Elle Shrader and Kelsie Vicknair runs out during introductions prior to the start of the 5A Girls 5K during the UIL state cross country championships at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018. The Chargers finished second at the meet. less

ROUND ROCK — As the only senior on a talented young team, Boerne Champion’s Erin Briley knows her teammates are destined for greatness.

She just wanted a little taste before she said goodbye.

Briley got it Saturday when the Chargers captured second place in the girls Class 5A team standings, finishing eight points behind Frisco Wakeland, at the UIL state championships at Old Settlers Park.

“I can’t comprehend it,” Briley said. “It’s just amazing. All the other years I’ve been here, we’ve gotten like 14th or 16th. To be able to be on the podium with my team is just phenomenal.”

It was particularly sweet because Briley, the Chargers’ top returning runner from last season, battled a leg injury for the first half of the season.

“I had the most encouraging teammates I could have ever asked for,” Briley said. “Every practice, there were encouraging me. Every race, they were there to tap me on the back to help me through it.”

Briley was the Chargers’ third-fastest finisher in 25th. Freshmen Kate Williams (21st) and Katie Houck (24th) were just ahead of her.

Chargers coach Jonathan Tate said Briley’s performance was an indication of her strength as a runner.

“It kind of what we would have seen from her had we had a normal season,” Tate said. “We knew that’s what she was capable of. She’s got the experience. In our heads, we thought she was the reason we could finish top three or higher because she was just coming on the season was progressing.”

The Chargers — comprised of three freshmen, one sophomore, two juniors and a senior — tallied 98 points. Cedar Park was third with 108.

The Chargers were one of three area teams that reached the podium with San Antonio Great Hearts winning the boys 2A championship and Lytle taking third in 3A boys.

Great Hearts coach Joel VanDerworp gathered his team after its race and let them know the damage they did.

“Forty points, boys,” VanDerworp said. “Forty points.”

That’s a dominating score at any cross country meet. When it’s tallied at UIL state, it’s a championship.

The Lions scored 40 points thanks to four top-10 performances as they coasted to the title.

Great Hearts, a charter school located in the Monte Vista neighborhood, beat second-place Port Aransas by 45 points.

Junior Duncan Naylor finished third overall in 15 minutes, 49.27 seconds on the 5,000-meter course. He was followed by teammates Levi Wiatrek (fifth), Diego Flores (seventh) and Joevonne Juarez (10th). Fifth runner Sullivan Huott, the final one who counts toward team scoring, was 25th. The Lions’ sixth and seventh runners — Diego Chavez and Justin Doughty — were 29th and 35th.

“To come to the state meet and have five guys have good days, and we had seven guys who had good days and a couple of guys who had great days, that’s all you can ask for as a coach,” VanDerworp said.

Winds gusted from 20 to 30 mph with temperatures in the low 70s. VanDerworp said his team did a great job of preserving energy while battling the wind.

“We did a good job of ducking behind guys when we were in headwinds,” VanDerworp said. “We just executed today.”

The Lions stood on the podium last year when they finished second to Sundown by 16 points.

Naylor earned his first medal after finishing ninth as a freshman and sixth as a sophomore.

“He’s always been very talented, and he’s typically been a good racer when he’s in the right race,” VanDerworp said. “But it’s taken time for him to be real confident and to run against guys who are his caliber.”

“We have a real young team,” Lytle coach Gilberto Ruiz said. “They’ve been dedicated all year. The plan is to be here from here on out and maybe in a couple of years win it. We have four sophomores, two freshman, one junior and one senior, so I think we’re sitting all right.”